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Friday, August 3, 2012

I received the Nature's Sleep Memory Foam Open Toe Slippers in white. My first impressions were that a fleece bathrobe would go really well with them because they look so fleecy! I put them on and they are really warm for being open-toe. For August weather, they seem almost a little too warm! They would be great in the winter. They have a very sturdy sole that would be fine to wear outside to pick up the paper, do some watering, run your kid to school, run the garbage out before the truck gets to your house, etc. They have great support, more than a pair of flip flops, if you can believe that! The only thing about them that may be 1 or 2, but certainly not 50, shades of gray is that they look a bit matronly. But who am I kidding? My oldest son is 24. I'm not trying to be an illusionist here (or am I?).

If you haven't experienced the Nature's Sleep Memory Foam difference yet, try the slippers. You will be impressed at how they retain their shape and are so comfortable. Then you can transition to some of the other great products from Nature's Sleep, like mattresses, mattress toppers, or foundations!

While the exact recipe for memory foam is kept secret, we know that
memory Foam, or visco-elastic polyurethane foam (as scientists like to
call it), is made primarily from polyurethane with some additional ingredients added to increase its density and viscosity. This increased
density and viscosity in turn creates a foam that's more supportive than
other foams and also allows it to mold to our bodies.

Here are some stats about the slippers from the Nature's Sleep website:

Friday, July 20, 2012

Hey Gal Pal, if you love eShakti, you might want to take a look at this. eShakti is having a sale - up to 40% off - and you can use this special code to get an additional 10% off your purchase! (I love 50% off sales!) Here's the code: DA2NMXNHere are some of the dresses! Happy Shopping!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

I’ve been a
Novica fan for awhile now because, simply put, they have really cool and
amazing stuff! I especially love their
pottery! I love beautiful pottery vases
and decorative items. I ordered two
beautiful pottery vases from the Castillo Family in Mexico and two beautiful
bird carvings from Peru.

Novica works
with National Geographic Magazine, giving talented artisans around the world a
place to express their artistic talents and have access to the world
market. There are thousands of unique
hand-crafted items on their site to shop for.
The gift ideas are endless.

Novica is
proactive about telling the stories of the artisans who create the beautiful
artwork found at their website. Each
piece of work comes with a personally written note from the artisan who made
it. I love how the work comes wrapped beautifully
enough to give directly to someone as a gift.

Novica doesn’t
charge the artists for listing items on the website. Each artist is fully independent and is free
to raise or lower prizes to his/her own choosing. This process allows the buyer to eliminate
any middleman and it benefits both buyer and seller.

A new ground level program
that Novica has for home business builders is NOVICA Live! Basically, it’s the opportunity to bring the actual
art into people’s homes and tell the story behind it, giving people learning
about NOVICA a hands on experience. I’ve heard it’s really easy to do~ basically you show a dvd of some of the artisans making
their craft and then you get to tell the stories about the artisans and their
lives. It’s a refreshingly different kind of experience because you are not simply
selling products, but you’re making a
difference in the lives of people across the globe. You are lifting people out
of poverty, you’re saving the arts and
traditions in these countries and you’re allowing these talented artisans a
chance to fulfill their purpose. The company makes it easy for you as
consultants because they provide all the tools to be successful.

Commission
on sales is 20-30% depending on your volume. That goes up to as much at 37%
once you make rank. You can find out more about it on the site. You can make A LOT of money if you build your team and help them be
successful. Plus, can you imagine all of
the beautiful NOVICA items you would have at your disposal? Yummy!
Believe me, I’m very tempted myself! Another really great thing is
shipping is FREE! It comes directly from the country to the customer so you
don’t have to deliver
product and neither does your host. Mercy! You just might find me doing this someday really soon! It is only $199 to start up, giving you $400 worth of products
and $150 in training materials to get started immediately. Plus there are
great incentives and price discounts for you to build up your show inventory,
if you so choose!

If you decide to be a Novica Live Consultant, would you let me
know so I can be excited for you? And if
you decide to do it, would you also let them know that A GAL NEEDS…blog (with my link) referred you?

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

I work at a remedial high school in the Behavior/Special Ed Unit. Before the school year ended, we had a writing assignment in English. The subject was 'If Wishes Came True"...Here is one girl's response:"If wishes came true I would eat whatever I want and not gain any weight. I would be so happy...I would eat McDonalds all i want, whenever I want...french fries and popcorn would be my snack every day. I would eat all of my favorite foods every day. I bet the world would be alot happier if this wish came true. No one would have to worry about their figures anymore. It would be an almost perfect world. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it."Well, girlfriend, I think you hit it pretty close for me! Eating is one of the best things ever. Unfortunately my appetite is bigger than what my metabolism can handle. If I were to give in, there would be hell to pay on the scales, and believe me, it's happened a lot. I envy those people who actually CAN seem to get away with eating whatever they want and still wear size 4 skinny jeans. But there is some good news. I can almost level the playing field with those metabolic miracle chicks by incorporating a few tricks of my own. Then when the craving is unbearable or the occasion warrents, I can indulge without the event ruining me for the next month and beyond. Here are a few things I've discovered that really do work:

Don't Eat After Dark - New
studies reveal that to burn the most fat, you need to go 12 hours without
eating—say, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. So it's smart to time your calorie intake
accordingly.

Include Some Form of Weight Lifting Each Week

Muscles are your biggest metabolic engine. The more of them
you build, the more calories will be directed to keeping them strong. Lifting
weights, practicing yoga, and incorporating core exercises that efficiently
work large, connected groups of muscles in one swoop will translate into a
higher metabolism all day.” Putting on
just 5 to 10 pounds of lean muscle mass will rev up your resting metabolism --
the number of calories your body burns to maintain life -- by roughly 100
calories, each and every day

Include Some Form of Interval Training Each Week In
a landmark study published in the journal Metabolism,
researchers found that short, intense bursts of exercise resulted in
considerably more fat loss than sustained activity. “ Interval training
[varying fast spurts of exercise with slower recovery periods] increases your
metabolic power,” says Dr. Mark Hyman, author of Ultrametabolism:
The Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss. “When you exercise this
way, your mitochondria, the little engines in your cells that burn calories,
run hotter all day.” Interval training can be incorporated into almost any
routine. For example, instead of jogging, try running all-out for one minute
and then walking for two, repeating the cycle for 30 minutes

Get Enough Sleep

When your body is sleep-deprived, it produces mass
quantities of grehlin, the hunger hormone, driving you to crave more sugar and
carbohydrates. A recent study from Case
Western Reserve University found that, on average, women who sleep for 5 hours
or less per night are 32 percent more likely to gain weight and 15 percent more
likely to be obese than those who get at least 7 hours.

Eat Every 2 or 3 Hours Eating
three large meals a day is terrible for your metabolism because you have three
peaks in your blood sugar/insulin response and the rest of the time you are in
a valley that is not good for your insulin response. The key is to make sure
each meal is well balanced and contains the right amount of protein,
carbohydrates, and a small amount of fat.

Supplement with Omega 3
Omega 3 fatty acids, largely found in fish oil and flaxseeds, increase the number of fat calories
your body burns every day. Fat burning foods are essential for people who
decrease calorie intake and exercise but still have trouble losing weight due
to often genetic metabolic conditions. They are great antidotes for this
problem.

Supplement with Chromium

Make
sure you’re getting enough chromium in your diet to help your body burn more calories.
Chromium, which is found in tomatoes and in a supplement form, also boosts the
way you burn fat. According to MedlinePlus, meat, eggs, green pepper, apples,
banana and spinach are also good sources of chromium. When you supplement 120
mcg of chromium daily, your body benefits by revving up its metabolism

Get Out of your chair every 20 minutes - Whether it's TV watching, blogging, entering contests, playing video or computer games or driving, we sit way too much. Between 1980 and 2000 exercise time stayed the same, but sitting increased by 8%. Obesity doubled. When one sits, the electrical impulses in the legs shut off, calorie burning drops to 1 calorie burned per minute and enzymes used to help burn fat drop to 90%. Just by setting a timer for 20 minutes, you can keep track of how long you sit and just walk around for a little bit to break up the time you are sitting without interruption, which seems to be the culprit.

Fight Inflamation

Experts are
starting to point to inflammation as an influence on metabolism. Inflammation
is simply the body’s immune response, activated during illness, allergic
reaction, or when too much glucose, fat, or carbohydrates enter the system,
explains Dr. Hyman. When the inflammatory response switches on, a group of
receptors located on the fat and liver cells activate and start redirecting
energy toward storage, rather than use. Until the body determines the “crisis”
is over, metabolism will slow down, and more calories will go to fat cells. You
can keep inflammation down by sticking to low-sugar foods, lean proteins, and
healthy fats. Meals high in antioxidants and fiber bring the inflammatory
response down even more.

Break Up Your Workout Sessions

A University of Pittsburgh study found that women who did
four separate 10-minute workouts during the day lost thirty percent more weight
than women who did one big 40-minute workout a day. Scientists conclude you can
lose more weight and keep your metabolism moving faster by doing smaller,
shorter workouts.

Control Stress as much as possible Keep
stress levels in check by managing your time, focusing on the present and not
over-committing. Many studies have found a link between high levels of stress
and weight gain. You don't have to commit to regular yoga classes or meditation
sessions to manage your stress. Just know your limits and know that the world isn't all on your shoulders, you can share that responsibility. It will help you be more productive in the long run.

Drink Plenty of Water

In a small German study, subjects who drank 16 ounces of
water at a time experienced a 30 percent increase in metabolic rate during the
following hour, burning an extra 24 calories. The researchers recommend cool
water because the body expends extra calories warming it up to your body
temperature. If your body is not
properly hydrated it may not be able to perform certain vital functions.
This can lead to a reduction in your BMR. Therefore, you need to make
sure you are drinking enough water to maximise your metabolism. I find
that keeping a water bottle at your desk and topping it up regularly plus
making an effort to drink extra water while exercising helps me stay hydrated
throughout the day.

Don't Under-Eat

Undereating causes your metabolic rate to drop and your body
to hold onto fat. Most nutrition experts recommend that the average, active
woman consumes at least 1,800 calories daily. But watch out for underestimating
the calorie count of "healthy" foods. Even some salads are packed with extra calories.

Drink Green Tea

There are
varying reports on this, but Research reported in the American Journal
of Clinical Nutrition shows that green tea helps to burn up to forty-three
percent more calories a day. Another study showed that men who drank green tea
for three months lost almost twice as much weight as those who didn’t drink the
brew.

I suppose I no longer have any of the above excuses to be fat, including that my metabolism is really bad. I better put my money where my mouth is! If you know of any other great tricks for boosting the metabolism, please do tell!

Monday, July 16, 2012

I have teamed up with 3 amazing bloggers to bring you this great giveaway:

Are you a busy mom, a rushed student or someone who is recovering from injury, surgery or illness? In all 3 cases, you definitely need to explore Classical Stretch because you will greatly benefit!

Classical
Stretch is a unique approach to physical fitness and over-all body wellness.
This innovative training technique targets the muscles and joints from many
different angles and planes of motion.
Classical Stretch combines profound stretch of the muscles and at the same time
forces the core muscles to contract eccentrically. This unique technique
creates conditions for the strengthening of the muscles without muscular
hypertrophy, helping participants to achieve the slenderized muscle. It also
creates conditions for body fat loss in targeted areas. A stronger,
better-balanced and more fl exible body encourages an individual to use his/her
newly possessed recourses by engaging in more active everyday life leading to
overall body weight loss and better health.

Miranda Esmonde-White, the creator of Classical Stretch, has spent most of her life dancing and sharing the artistry of dance with others. A former ballerina, Miranda has used her understanding of movement to create a stretch and strengthening fitness program, which targets the needs of everyone from women and men of all ages to elite athletes.

Classical Stretch is an exercise system that is transformational for women 25 and older. It fuses its unique movements with elements of Tai Chi, Yoga and
Ballet. The founder, Miranda Esmonde-White is a lifetime dancer and
ballerina. Her exercise system evolved in her studio as she studied her own
movements and those of her students. She became known for healing
musculoskeletal issues such as back pain and leg problems and for toning,
lengthening and slenderizing her students' bodies.

Filmed in Jamaica, currently in its 8th Season on PBS and in filming for Season
9, Classical Stretch and Miranda Esmond-White is a Canadian success story and
crosses over into the US and beyond! She has many testimonials and many
disciples of her method.Rushed Students: This is a full-body workout that will produce results in just 28 minutes per day. If you don't have time to do anything else, you should stretch to keep the muscle tone and flexibility that only too soon (starting at age 25) you will start to lose. Yes, if we don't use and stretch all 600 of the muscles in the body, they will start to atrophy that early!

Busy Moms: In just 28 minutes per day, you will start to notice your body lengthening, thinning, and getting stronger. Your energy will increase and you will be motivated to continue! Try the Classical Stretch 30-day Boot Camp, doing one or two episodes everyday for 30 days, and watch your pant size go down!

Recovering Patient: A bonus of this program is that it is rehabilitative in nature for those who are suffering with multiple ailments such as back injury, leg pain, surgery, scoliosis and more.

It's hard to imagine that something that takes such little time can produce such great results. But try it,and be surprised at how thoroughly worked-out and energized you feel at the end of the workout! Of course, like anything worth achieving, it takes practice and perseverance. Good thing it is an enjoyable thing to do! Here are a couple of the many testimonials found on the Classical Stretch Website!

"I started doing Classical
Stretch on PBS last September when my son started school. I have been doing it
3-4 times per week for 10 months and look and feel better. I was not overweight
before but needed to tone. I have lost 5 pounds and several inches from my
waist and legs. I can wear a size 4-6. All of my clothes are too big. "

"I am 40 years old, have had a baby and can wear
clothes I wore when I was in my 20's. I might even wear a bikini this year. I
also used to have alot of back pain and tightness. I now rarely have back
problems and when I do I can cure myself with Classical Stretch. Thank you so
much."

And here is an example of Miranda, guiding you through a workout. She is very knowledgeable about human anatomy and shares helpful tips throughout the workouts to educate as to why you are doing the particular stretches.